-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The music was pounding , the lights pulsing .

The concertgoers , who packed the club , were rocking with wild abandon to the sound of the band on stage .

But the party quickly turned to horror as flames sparked by pyrotechnics swept up the walls and across the ceiling .

This was n't the Kiss nightclub in southern Brazil , where more than 230 souls lost their lives Sunday .

It was The Station nightclub in West Warwick , Rhode Island , where 100 were killed during a show by '80s heavy metal band Great White .

For survivors of that February night fire in 2003 , the Sunday blaze in Santa Maria brought back memories of their own brush with death .

Photos : Hundreds dead in Brazil nightclub fire

`` I ca n't help but watch because I 'm one of them , '' Gina Russo told CNN affiliate WPRI-TV . `` It 's just devastating that someone else has to experience it . ''

Russo suffered serious burns in the fire , but the flames claimed the life of her fiance , Fred Crisostomi .

A sad sense of deja vu

In the years since the blaze , Station fire survivors have felt the same sadness numerous times :

In December 2004 , when 194 people were killed in a nightclub fire in Argentina 's capital , Buenos Aires ;

In December 2008 , when fireworks triggered a fire and panic at a nightclub in Perm , Russia , killing 156 people ;

And in January 2009 , when a New Year 's Eve blaze at a Bangkok club claimed 64 lives .

Now , the reality of another such tragedy tears at the heart of Dave Kane , whose 18-year-old son Nicky was the youngest victim of the Station fire .

`` It has n't stopped . Nobody has learned anything , '' he told CNN affiliate WJAR-TV . `` What else do you need to get through to somebody ? I do n't know what that is . ''

Sunday , The Station Fire Memorial Foundation offered its condolences and sympathies to those affected by the fire in Brazil .

`` The loss of life and injuries sustained are almost too heartbreaking to comprehend , '' a statement from the organization said . `` One can not help but notice the similarities between this tragedy and the Station nightclub fire that occurred nearly ten years ago . ''

Read more : 3 arrested in deadly Brazil nightclub fire

Fire brings changes

The Station fire brought changes to Rhode Island law , requiring sprinklers at buildings that can house more than 150 people and limiting pyrotechnics .

The nightclub had had no sprinklers , and the foam used to deaden sound in the venue was highly flammable .

Michael and Jeffrey Derderian , the two brothers who owned the club , pleaded no contest to 100 counts each of involuntary manslaughter .

A judge sentenced Michael Derderian to four years in prison , but spared Jeffrey Derderian jail time with a suspended sentence . He received 500 hours of community service .

Changes were made nationally , too .

The fire prompted many states to pass laws forbidding pyrotechnics in nightclubs , mandating sprinklers and the presence of at least one trained crowd manager .

Read more : How to stay safe

Living in the aftermath

For Russo and Kane , the years have taught them that time -- lots of time -- can sometimes gradually heal the emotional wounds .

It 's `` astounding pain , and your entire life gets completely mangled , '' said Kane , who wrote a book after the fire called `` 41 Signs of Hope . ''

`` Only through the grace of faith and hope can you mange to pull yourself out and live again to start anew , because the sun does come up the next day . ''

Russo also penned a book after the tragedy : `` From the Ashes , Surviving the Station Nightclub Fire . ''

`` You can heal from it , '' she said . `` It just takes time and patience and to know you 're not alone . ''

John Barylick , an attorney who represented victims in wrongful death and personal injury cases arising from the fire , knows the pain well , too .

`` In coming days , Rhode Islanders will follow the unfolding news from Brazil with a sense of queasy deja vu -- the rising body counts , the victim identification process , the grieving families , and the assigning -LRB- and dodging -RRB- of blame , '' he said . `` If only they had learned from our tragedy . ''

`` No concert is worth your life . ''

Deadly blazes : Nightclub tragedies in recent history

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100 concertgoers died in 2003 Rhode Island nightclub fire

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Gina Russo lost her fiance in the blaze and was seriously burned

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Dave Kane 's 18-year-old son was the youngest victim

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More than 200 people have been killed in a club fire in southern Brazil , authorities say